Low Impact Development Manual for Michigan - OSEH - University ...

BMP Fact Sheet
Soil Restoration
Soil is a key ingredient in effective stormwater and water quality management,
making proper care of soils a key component of low impact development.
Soil restoration is a technique used to enhance and restore soils by physical
treatment and/or mixture with additives – such as compost – in areas where
soil has been compacted. Soil media restoration increases the water retention
capacity of soil, reduces erosion, improves soil structure, immobilizes
and degrades pollutants (depending on soil media makeup), supplies nutrients
to plants, and provides organic matter. Soil restoration is also used to
reestablish the soil’s long term capacity for infiltration and to enhance the
vitality of the soil as it hosts all manner of microbes and plant root systems
in complex, symbiotic relationships.
The soil in the detention basin pictured above was amended with compost.
Applications Stormwater Quantity Functions
Residential Yes Volume Medium
Commercial Yes
Groundwater
Recharge
Key Design
Features
• Follow nonstructural BMP to
minimize soil compaction
• Evaluate existing soil
conditions using methods
referenced in Soil Infiltration
Testing Protocol (Appendix
E) before creating a soil
restoration strategy
• Soil media used in restoration
is either organic or inorganic
(man-made) and is mixed into
existing soil
Benefits
• Widely applicable
• Relatively low cost
• Additional benefits such as
improved plant health and
reduced erosion.
Limitations
• Relatively limited stormwater
benefits on a unit area basis
LID Manual for Michigan – Chapter 7 Page 281
Low
Ultra Urban Yes Peak Rate Medium
Industrial Yes Stormwater Quality Functions
Retrofit Limited TSS High*
Highway/Road Yes TP High*
Recreational Yes
NO3
Medium
Temperature Medium
Additional Considerations
Cost Medium
Maintenance Low
Winter Performance High
*Newly amended soils are susceptible to
erosion and release of TSS and phosphorus
until stabilized with mulch, erosion
blanket, sod, or some other covering.